Coming, occurring, continuing, or remaining after the correct, usual, or expected time; delayed: a late breakfast; a late meeting. See Synonyms at tardy. b. Occurring at an advanced hour, especially well into the evening or night: a late movie on television; the late flight to Denver.
Â­Just Â­about every tree has an outer layer of cork bark, but the cork oak (Quercus suber) is the primary source of most cork products in the world, including wine bottle stoppers. These trees primarily grow in countries that run along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where there's plenty of sunshine, low rainfall and high humidity. The countries that produce the most cork include Portugal, Algeria, Spain, Morocco, France, Italy and Tunisia.
As cork oak (Quercus suber) is an ancient tree, Biblical characters probably wore its bark in the soles of their Roman sandals. Fortunately, that oak -- which hails from North Africa and the Mediterranean -- can regenerate the outer skin of cork that creates a rustic contrast to its glossy, gray-backed leaves.